Monday, 23 November 2009

Strong voices and explosive hand-clapping characterizethe devotional music known as qawwali. Anensemble of usually 12 male performers conveys areligious message through music and song based onmystic poetry by Sufi masters. The texts usually dealwith divine love (’ishq), the sorrow of separation(hijr, firaq) and the union (visal), these concepts beingsymbolically reinforced and illustrated by themusic. Qawwali blends Iranian and Central Asianpoetic, philosophical and musical elements into aNorth Indian base, combining popular music withclassical traditions. Following the same pattern ofcombination and blending, the texts cover Arabicand Persian, but the main text body is usually in asimple idiom form of Indian languages: Urdu,Hindi, Purbi and Punjabi. Qawwali is derived fromthe Arabic word qaul, literally meaning “saying” buthas taken on the meaning of “belief ” or “credo” inSouth Asian languages. Qawwali is spiritual in essence;it is the devotional music of the Sufis to attaintrance and mystical experience—originating in the10th century and blossoming into its present formfrom the 13th century onwards.Qawwali is inseparable from the name of a Persiancourt musician, composer, poet and mystic of thatperiod: Amir Khusrau (1254-1325). Amir Khusrauexperimented with musical forms, combining theIndian and the Persian, the Hindu Bhakti and theMuslim Sufi to produce the present form ofqawwali.Qawwali thus became a popular expression ofMuslim devotion open to all faiths throughoutNorthern India. This form of music rapidly becamea vehicle for the Islamic missionary movement inIndia, while at the same time reinforcing the faith ofthe Muslims. In many cases, the original Persianmystical text is followed by a translation in the localidiom sung in the same manner as the original.While the orthodoxy continues to reject what theyperceive as a blasphemous mixture of music and religion,qawwali remains an expanding form of musicenjoying universal popularity in South Asia andbeyond. An even more energetic form of qawwalideveloped around the 16th century in the middleIndus at the crossroads between Iran, Central Asiaand India. This form, called the Punjabi ang, presentsthe crystal-clear and profound texts of PunjabiSufi poetry and folk songs woven into attractivemelodies and powerful rhythms. The late Nusrat FatehAli Khan belongs to this branch of qawwali.

Saturday, 14 November 2009

The power of Bad Brains' classic 1983 hardcore album has not diminished over the years. Lightning fast and taut like razor-wire this record helped to define the sound of American punk. While Rock for Light is available on CD, the version that you can buy is completely different to this vinyl release. The CD contains 20 songs, most of which are significantly faster than the original recordings.
Check out this clip of a 1982 live show at New York's CBGB's. Total chaos:

Saturday, 7 November 2009

Glorious Rumba/Soukous from the mid-'70s. This is frantic, psyched-out stuff, twitchy drums and madly phased, wah-wah guitars. Here's what Gary Stewart had to say about the band in his great book Rumba on the River:

"The Stukas Boys had gotten their start as a neighbourhood band doing James Brown covers in 1968, nearly two years before their more successful competitors Bella Bella and Zaiko came along. In 1970 the group had improved to the point that it was able to secure a booking at the prestigious Para Fifi night club...and the next year it cut some records. By than a fairly stable core had evolved that included singers Lita Bembo, Lomingo Alida, Kisola Nzita, and Suka Bola, guitarists Samunga Tediangaye and Bongo Wende, and drummer Bakunde Ilondjoko

Like the Trio Madjesi, The Stukas Boys were known less for their music than for theirgreat live performances. And Zaire's developing show system was made to order for their front man, the incredible Lita Bembo. Young and athletic, Lita...had a workmanlike voice but the instinctive moves of a premier dancer. Once on stage, he alone commanded the audience.

Samunga, barely into his twenties, anchored the band with a flashy lead guitar which he sometimes plucked with his teeth a la Jimi Hendrix. But when the 'showman' Lita Bembo appeared, no one else had a chance. 'The young man will literally dominate the scene,' reported. 'He will make the mike "suffer." Dropping to his knees like a voodoo man in a trance, exhibiting his sacred dance...Lita Bembo proves his skill by showing off his impossible postures.' After his stellar performance at Zaire 74, Salongo declared 'he set the tone for the evening. And the concert he presented to the public brilliantly confirmed his rank as a great star of Zairean music'"

Here's a clip of this great band in action on a Saturday night variety show:

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

This is a great archive of sounds from that delicious moment when hip hop burst out of New York's ghettoes in a blaze of spangly disco grooves and delerious, sharp tongued swagger. Here's a clip from the 1984 BBC documentary, Beat This, which featured all the great dj's, mc's, breakers and bombers of the time:

This film certainly caused a stir in my school playground, and you can watch the whole thing here.

Snap, Crackle & Pop

The music is, of course, for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear then go out and try and buy stuff...or something, give money to a down on his luck musician, or sponsor a good busker, it may be the start of something beautiful.

If any of the zips die, then post a comment and i'll try to repost. And leave comments, abuse, name calling, any response is welcome.

I think all of the albums posted are currently unavailable, but if this is not the case we'll remove the offending files.